After everything that had happened in the Lioness Kingdom, Emery let the Lioness group, the surviving 20 knights and the princess, stay in his estate.
Not wanting to make things more awkward than it already was, after the Lioness King's funeral ceremony, he decided to immediately leave and give the matters to Luna.
He returned to the Forbidden Forest to continue on with his training.
Emery swiftly went to his usual spot inside the forest, and casted [Nature Grasp] as he went deep into his cultivation training.
As his mind dove into his body as usual, Emery directed the energy of Gaia that his body absorbed from the surroundings and channeled it into the seed sitting silently beside his dark core.
Just like what he had always experienced, Emery felt a refreshing sensation throughout his body. However, after several days of continuous cultivation, nothing had changed for him.
The truth was, Emery couldn't fully concentrate on his training because every hour or so, the young acolyte would stop his training to use his [Spirit Reading] ability.
He kept checking if there were any sort of troops making their way to Venta Town.
He was still worried about the possibility that the enemies were still trying to find Gwen's whereabouts, despite the 'agreement' he reached with the Cantiaci Queen.
fortunately the last few days, his worries were still unproven.
In this particular morning, when Emery once again used his [Spirit Reading] ability, he perceived a figure walking into the Forbidden Forest. He only sensed one person, and after observing it, he realized that the latter was walking around in a circle. The behavior of this unknown figure made him suspicious as in general people are still scared of the forest.
It only took a few seconds of spirit reading before the face of someone familiar popped into his mind. He took a deep breath before he stood up from his cross-legged position and rushed towards the location where the figure was.
The moment he arrived, Emery heaved a deep sigh at his correct conjecture. The figure, who was walking around was none other than the Lioness Princess, Gwen, herself.
"What are you doing here?!"
Emery's voice that suddenly appeared out of nowhere startled the princess.
Gwen's body was slightly jolted due to the surprise and she quickly turned around to see Emery's face. "Huh?! You scared me!"
Emery ignored her remark and asked the previous question again, this time in a condescending tone.
"What are you doing here, princess?"
Gwen didn't reply right away when she noticed the tone that Emery used. As a result, the two were staring at each other for a few seconds before she finally decided to open her mouth. "I heard from Luna that I can find you around here, that's why."
Emery was about to scold Luna in his mind. But then He was confused and suspicious of Gwen because the place that Luna knew was actually way far off from their current location.
"Why are you looking for me, princess?" Emery decided to ask directly because Gwen didn't give the proper answer to his previous question.
"Emery... Lioness is no more. I am no longer a princess. So, you should call me Gwen."
From what Gwen just said, Emery could have guessed what she decided but it still somewhat surprised him.
After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke.
"Good for you, then. But this place is still not for any girl. You should return to Venta, and don't worry, you can use the place for as long as you need."
Upon hearing Emery's words, Gwen was silent. Then, she took a deep breath, and with a determined expression on her face, she said,
"I don't need it anymore, Emery. I have asked everyone to go... Now, I am on my own."
Hearing this, Emery was really confused as he couldn't figure out what the girl wanted.
"You still haven't told me why you are here.."
Gwen struggled to contain her emotions that were trying to break through. She quickly adjusted her condition before finding the courage to say what she had in mind and wanted to say to Emery.
"I came here to say thank you. Thank you, for saving me and my knights.." She stopped for a moment before continuing, "I've also come here to apologize."
"Sorry for doubting you.. You were right… about Fantumar.. and, it's not my place to force you to do things that you don't want."
Emery stood there silently as he didn't really know how to respond to this sudden apology.
Gwen noticed the silence, and decided to continue. He could clearly see her body trembling as she said,
"Will you forgive me, Emery..?"
Seeing the girl who kept haunting his mind said this, especially when he saw her current situation; it's quite hard not to forgive her.
Realizing Emery silence, Gwen decided to lay down what she has been planning to say
"Emery… I... have no other place to go. ...I was hoping to stay with you for a while.."
After she said those words, there was complete silence between the two until Gwen decided to add,
"What I mean... I hope you give me the chance to stay in the Fey village. I want to… get to know them better.. You know... I want to prove to you, and myself, that I don't hate them."
Emery took another sigh, he wasn't sure if this was a good idea the place was not really a palace, and there was also the language problem
Then, it came to him that this girl probably didn't think clearly because of the shock of losing the kingdom and the sadness of losing her father... and maybe, living in the village, being away from all those things... could be a good thing and help her better…
The fey village was also probably the safest place for her. What's more, if Gwen did live in the village, Emery could stop worrying about her and could focus wholeheartedly on his training.
"Alright, I don't mind. However, there's nothing I can do to help you if they decide not to accept you."
Gwen forced herself to smile as she said,
"Yes, thank you, Emery, I am sure they will like a pretty girl like me"
Emery was in no mood to joke with her at the moment.
He then brought her to the Fey village, but as soon as the two arrived at the village, Gwen was really surprised when she discovered five girls staring at her with suspicious looks on their faces.
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by NovelFull,